COMMENTARY
RESOLUTIONS AND GOOD INTENTIONS ARE NOT ENOUGH- USE THE VOTE TO SUPPORT ANTI-WAR FRATERNATIZATION WITH THE TROOPS IN IRAQ
Forget elephants, donkeys and greens-BUILD A WORKERS PARTY!
1. NOTE: THE COMMENTARY BELOW WAS ORIGINALLY POSTED ON OCTOBER 12, 2006. THIS IS IN THE NATURE OF A REMINDER ON THIS ISSUE. GIVEN THE STATE OF CURRENT POLITICS THIS IS THE ONLY WAY THAT THOSE WHO ARE OPPOSED TO THE IRAQ WAR CAN MAKE THEIR VOICES HEARD. IF YOU DO NOT BELIEVE ME JUST ASK EVERY CANDIDATE- WILL YOU VOTE AGAINST THE WAR BUDGET?- YES OR NO. THE ANSWERS WILL NOT BE PRETTY
According to the Boston Globe of October 11, 2006 the voters of a number of Massachusetts communities will be able to vote on November 7th on a non-binding referendum calling for the immediate withdrawal of troops from Iraq. The measure sponsored by the American Friends Service Committee (Quakers) and other anti-war organizations will be on the ballot in various communities depending on the Massachusetts House of Representatives district. The gist of the resolution is a call on your local state representative to support a resolution to call on the Congress and the President to immediately withdraw troops from Iraq. Given that all hell is breaking out in Iraq at some level this should be regarded as sub-parliamentary cretinism. I personally think that it would be easier to turn swords in plowshares than to get any effective action out of this cumbersome parliamentary maneuver. Nevertheless it is minimally supportable by militant leftists as an expression of opposition to the Iraq war. But, hear me out further.
Petitions, people’s peace treaties and referenda against war pushed by the more pacific, reformist-minded elements of anti- war movements throughout its history have been a dime a dozen every time a serious military conflict arises. Those forces that place primacy on such methods of redress fundamentally believe that those who have the power to take a nation to war are at heart “reasonable” and subject to parliamentary pressure from the masses. At last count their efforts have had zero effect on the continuation or cessation of any war, particularly the current one. Nevertheless, as a political proposition such acts do no harm and can give a minimal voice to anti-war opposition. That it is hardly enough goes without saying. Let me, however, propose another way to look at such a vote.
Any even moderately political person who has paid attention to the situation in Iraq over the last period knows that it is desperately necessary to cut and run with “all deliberate speed”out of that quagmire. That part is a no-brainer. Nevertheless, the President, the Congress, the military chieftains and, yes, the anti-war movement have failed the troops in Iraq. The shortest and only way home now for the troops is to organize AMONG THEMSELVES TO COME HOME. Our role on this side of the ocean is to act in solidarity with such efforts and form civilian solidarity committees to aid these efforts. Thus, on November 7th voters in the effected Massachusetts districts can use their vote not only for calling for immediate withdrawal from Iraq but to support the troops' efforts to get out. Until then it is still necessary to say and organize around- GET THE HELL OUT OF IRAQ NOW!!
ADDED NOTE: For the past several months I have been proposing the above course of action regarding troop solidarity committees. During that time I have also been adamant that there will be no troops drawdown soon. Today’s Boston Globe (October 12, 2006) brings the grim confirmation of that projection. No drawdown until 2010, according to the Army chieftains. During this same several month period I have been arguing that the only meaningful measure on a parliamentary level is a vote against the war budget. That is the litmus test for any labor party or socialist candidate (forget the Democrats and Republicans, they like to vote for these budgets). Moreover, on the state level I have proposed this parliamentary question in another form. In the heat of the current Governor’s race I have posed the question to ask Deval Patrick (Republican Kerry Healey is beyond the pale), the darling of the parliamentary anti-war left, whether as Commander-in Chief of the Massachusetts National Guard he would refuse to send troops to Iraq. No liberal really want to know the answer to that one. Nevertheless, these are the real parliamentary tactics needed for the times.
Wednesday, November 01, 2006
ON SENATOR KERRY'S REMARKS-THE CLASS ISSUE IN THE IRAQ WAR
COMMENTARY
THE CASUALTY LISTS DO NOT LIE-THIS WAR IS FOUGHT BY THE WORKING CLASS AND MINORITIES-EDUCATED OR NOT
Forget the elephants, donkeys and greens-BUILD A WORKERS PARTY
After spending the past several months lambasting Massachusetts Senator John Forbes Kerry for his presidential pretensions and political ambitions I finally have a momentary point of solidarity with him. Do not worry. When he goes back to form I will kick him and the other capitalist politicans around-and enjoy it. But, fair is fair.
And what is this flap all about? Earlier this week, the week of October 30, 2006, Kerry made what was, as always for him, an ill-fated attempt to poke fun at President Bush and his alleged possession of an I.Q. However, the way that it came out in his West Coast junior college presentation Kerry appeared to be offering the students a cautionary note that if they fell down on the academic job they would wind up as 'cannon fodder' in Bush's misbegotten war in Iraq. As usual, his attempt at humor got him in more trouble than anticipated and the Republicans were waiting. Can this guy ever get out of the cardboard costume?
Notwithstanding that little problem, what Senator Kerry inadvertently blurred out was the deep, dark unspoken secret of American politcal life- the working class, the rural poor, and minorities are the main elements fighting the war in Iraq. A cursory look any day of the week at the casualty lists in the newspaper confirms this graphically. Read the personal profiles of the dead and wounded. Junior colleges, unlike the elite schools Kerry is more familar with, represent for many young working class and minority youth the last shot at obtaining some kind of socially usable skill. And, yes, if one fails there the prospects ARE bleak in an increasingly technologically driven world. Thus, no one should be surprised that between the pressures from military recruiters, home pressures and the brutal facts of an "economic" draft for many poor or minority families that the poor and minorities form a disproportionate part of the armed services. It was true in Vietnam, with even more deadly consequences. It is true in Iraq.
The filthy rich, the super rich and the merely rich would like to pay their fair share for the war but their tax advisors have advised them of the adverse effects on their tax shelters if they do so. Furthermore they would not dream of having their children play with guns. Their servants or their servants' children, yes, but not their own. The middle class, especially the upper middle class, may pay for the war but still shelter their children from the traumas of war. But the working class and minorities pay for the war AND provide the 'cannon fodder' for it. THOSE SOLDIERS AND SAILORS BETTER GET EDUCATED FAST TO ORGANIZE THEMSELVES TO GET THE HELL OUT OF IRAQ NOW. NOT ONE PENNY, NOT ONE PERSON FOR THIS WAR!
That said, Senator Kerry, despite his inadvertant insight, should still not be left off the hook. And that brings up the most important question of this parliamentary election season. As always the question to be put to every politican by anti-war militants is-Will you vote against the war budget? YES OR NO. That is the only meaningful parliamentary opposition to the war. On that note I can comfortably go back to lambasting the ill-starred Kerry.
Revised: November 3, 2006
THE CASUALTY LISTS DO NOT LIE-THIS WAR IS FOUGHT BY THE WORKING CLASS AND MINORITIES-EDUCATED OR NOT
Forget the elephants, donkeys and greens-BUILD A WORKERS PARTY
After spending the past several months lambasting Massachusetts Senator John Forbes Kerry for his presidential pretensions and political ambitions I finally have a momentary point of solidarity with him. Do not worry. When he goes back to form I will kick him and the other capitalist politicans around-and enjoy it. But, fair is fair.
And what is this flap all about? Earlier this week, the week of October 30, 2006, Kerry made what was, as always for him, an ill-fated attempt to poke fun at President Bush and his alleged possession of an I.Q. However, the way that it came out in his West Coast junior college presentation Kerry appeared to be offering the students a cautionary note that if they fell down on the academic job they would wind up as 'cannon fodder' in Bush's misbegotten war in Iraq. As usual, his attempt at humor got him in more trouble than anticipated and the Republicans were waiting. Can this guy ever get out of the cardboard costume?
Notwithstanding that little problem, what Senator Kerry inadvertently blurred out was the deep, dark unspoken secret of American politcal life- the working class, the rural poor, and minorities are the main elements fighting the war in Iraq. A cursory look any day of the week at the casualty lists in the newspaper confirms this graphically. Read the personal profiles of the dead and wounded. Junior colleges, unlike the elite schools Kerry is more familar with, represent for many young working class and minority youth the last shot at obtaining some kind of socially usable skill. And, yes, if one fails there the prospects ARE bleak in an increasingly technologically driven world. Thus, no one should be surprised that between the pressures from military recruiters, home pressures and the brutal facts of an "economic" draft for many poor or minority families that the poor and minorities form a disproportionate part of the armed services. It was true in Vietnam, with even more deadly consequences. It is true in Iraq.
The filthy rich, the super rich and the merely rich would like to pay their fair share for the war but their tax advisors have advised them of the adverse effects on their tax shelters if they do so. Furthermore they would not dream of having their children play with guns. Their servants or their servants' children, yes, but not their own. The middle class, especially the upper middle class, may pay for the war but still shelter their children from the traumas of war. But the working class and minorities pay for the war AND provide the 'cannon fodder' for it. THOSE SOLDIERS AND SAILORS BETTER GET EDUCATED FAST TO ORGANIZE THEMSELVES TO GET THE HELL OUT OF IRAQ NOW. NOT ONE PENNY, NOT ONE PERSON FOR THIS WAR!
That said, Senator Kerry, despite his inadvertant insight, should still not be left off the hook. And that brings up the most important question of this parliamentary election season. As always the question to be put to every politican by anti-war militants is-Will you vote against the war budget? YES OR NO. That is the only meaningful parliamentary opposition to the war. On that note I can comfortably go back to lambasting the ill-starred Kerry.
Revised: November 3, 2006
Tuesday, October 31, 2006
LAST ROUNDUP FOR MIDTERM ELECTIONS- 2006
COMMENTARY
NOTES ON THE FINAL ELECTORAL ODDS, REPUBLICAN ZANIES, DEMOCRATIC HYPOCRISY AND ONE LAST DESPERATE MESSAGE FOR DOCTOR HUNTER THOMPSON-CALL ME
Forget elephants, donkeys and greens-BUILD A WORKERS PARTY!
With about one week to go in the 2006 electoral cycle I am prepared to make my breathlessly awaited final line on the Congressional contests. Fortunately, as noted in an early October blog (see October 2006 archives, dated October 1), as an anti-capitalist militant I am able to keep a long, a very long, distance between myself and the fate of these parties and therefore am able to make a considered, in fact a most considered judgment, on the results. Unfortunately, the real loser in this years elections is the working class who along with its allies have for the umpteenth time taken a beating by being confronted with choices of elephants, donkeys and Greens whose programs do not come close articulating its historic needs. Hell, those parties do not even come close to meeting its immediate needs- which is a party of its own- a workers party based on a working class program. Forget the Left Liberals, Forget the Greens- accept no substitutes.
Despite all the hoopla over the expected Democratic resurgence, especially in the House of Representatives, the number of races that count have been dramatically overblown in the media. Given Republican gerrymandering, base-building and a flat out cash flow advantage the real number of seats “in play”, as the conventional political pundits put it, is still in the 25 to 30 range that I indicated were up for grabs in early October. That and a certain narrowing of the numbers toward the Republicans down the final stretch leads me to one conclusion- even, take your pick. I will take all the action I can get on that proposition and feel it is a wise investment. Of course, in early October I was considering my bets as money found on the ground. Well, even disinterested leftists are capable of getting caught up in the moment. As for the Senate races I think the Democratic pundits have been smoking “something”. I will be damned if I can see their numbers. 3/2 Republicans retain the Senate.
These numbers point to the underlying problem that the Democrats have faced all year. Despite a willfully ignorant President (who capacity for screwing up everything he touches, by the way, should make the Trustees of the Yale Corporation blush that they gave up a seat to a meritorious student in favor of the ‘tribe’s’ George W.), a barrelful of scandals that would make Boss Tweed blush and other assorted antics the Democrats have maintained a political position which they have carried over from the 2004 election campaign-Republican-lite. So be it. That is their problem, our problems lie elsewhere. Below are a few final observations that make this writer very glad that he stands outside the bourgeois political parties.
* Last spring Anne Coulter made a splash on the political scene by trashing widows in her latest book of political trivia. Now hot off the “de-tox” trail one Rush Limbaugh has aimed his blunted barbs at actor Michael J. Fox, a sufferer from Parkinson’s disease, who has been supporting the fight to increase stem-cell research. Apparently ever since last year’s obscene flap in the Terry Schrivo case every half-baked zany with access to a microphone is now capable of a tele-diagnosis of the ailments of the world. Seemingly this is the Republican prescription in lieu of a universal health care program.
Last spring I also mentioned that the Republicans should nominate, unopposed, Ms. Coulter as their nominee for President in 2008, as she represents the “soul” of that party. Now I have found her Vice Presidential running mate. At one time bourgeois politicians nurtured widows and orphans, the afflicted, the waifs of the world – even if they were not going to do anything about their plight. Now the “survival of the fittest” code of political warfare has rendered that point moot. In the year 2006 is it really necessary in the “interest of full and frank democratic discourse” to have these zanies running the mainstream political circus (or perhaps, asylum is a better choice of words).
* Make no mistake racism is a fact of life in American life, particularly of political life, in 2006 as always. Make all the paeans to racial integration that you want but the hard reality is down in the mud the “race card” is the coin of the realm. Cases in point. In Tennessee, black Democratic Senatorial candidate Harold Ford was the subject of a vicious television ad depicting a willowy white blonde woman coming on to him. Despite all the disclaimers his Republican opponent’s numbers jumped up after the hoopla over that ad died down. Some commentators have noted that the blatant aims of the ad- to fuel the fires over the taboo subjects of interracial sex and its adjunct the “preservation of the purity of the white race” evokes the memory of Emmett Till (see October 2006 archives for an article on Till’s case). True enough, but the really interesting thing about the ad is not so much a certain assumption about a black man’s sexuality as much as that a white woman is coming on to a black man- now that is the nut of the whole racial cultural battle which drives the ‘gentile’ whites crazy with anxiety.
In Massachusetts black Democratic candidate for Governor Deval Patrick has also been attacked with a racially charged television ad that he is “soft” on rapists. Jesus, how low can these bourgeois politicians go just to get elected to a two-bit office? Even those hardened politicians, the late Hubert Humphrey and Richard Nixon, who were capable of the most gross political shenanigans to get into office would be blushing here.
* Recently Massachusetts Congressman Barney Frank, who is slated to take over the House Finanical Services Committee chairmanship if the Democrats sweep into the majority there, gave a revealing interview that epitomizes the limits of the Democratic Party as a vehicle that working people can rely on. Now Congressman Frank is an intelligent, witting and knowledgeable politician, far from the worst of the lot- in fact probably one of the most liberal in bourgeois politics. Here is what he had to say. After paying the obligatory homage to the “free market” system Frank noted that this system contains an inherent inequality but that was essentially the overhead price one must pay for the system to function. The role of government is to regulate that inequality so that it does not become too oppressive. That, dear readers, in a nutshell is exactly what is wrong with capitalism and its defenders. The role of government should be to end government over the citizenry- to let every cook be a commissar, to end exploitation of humankind by humankind and let the devil take the hinder post. Even the best liberal politician has a tin ear on this question.
* As we wind down on this bummer of a campaign season and begin the gear up to the real action-the presidential campaign of 2008 I refer back to an article written last summer when I first started to pay attention to the national political campaign (see July 2006 archives). This was an open letter to the late Doctor Hunter J. Thompson, political writer of blessed memory, to come back and give me some goddamn help. He liked this stuff. He liked to get down in the mud with this crowd. Thompson was a pro and took this weirdness in stride. Hunter-call me, please. Enough said.
NOTES ON THE FINAL ELECTORAL ODDS, REPUBLICAN ZANIES, DEMOCRATIC HYPOCRISY AND ONE LAST DESPERATE MESSAGE FOR DOCTOR HUNTER THOMPSON-CALL ME
Forget elephants, donkeys and greens-BUILD A WORKERS PARTY!
With about one week to go in the 2006 electoral cycle I am prepared to make my breathlessly awaited final line on the Congressional contests. Fortunately, as noted in an early October blog (see October 2006 archives, dated October 1), as an anti-capitalist militant I am able to keep a long, a very long, distance between myself and the fate of these parties and therefore am able to make a considered, in fact a most considered judgment, on the results. Unfortunately, the real loser in this years elections is the working class who along with its allies have for the umpteenth time taken a beating by being confronted with choices of elephants, donkeys and Greens whose programs do not come close articulating its historic needs. Hell, those parties do not even come close to meeting its immediate needs- which is a party of its own- a workers party based on a working class program. Forget the Left Liberals, Forget the Greens- accept no substitutes.
Despite all the hoopla over the expected Democratic resurgence, especially in the House of Representatives, the number of races that count have been dramatically overblown in the media. Given Republican gerrymandering, base-building and a flat out cash flow advantage the real number of seats “in play”, as the conventional political pundits put it, is still in the 25 to 30 range that I indicated were up for grabs in early October. That and a certain narrowing of the numbers toward the Republicans down the final stretch leads me to one conclusion- even, take your pick. I will take all the action I can get on that proposition and feel it is a wise investment. Of course, in early October I was considering my bets as money found on the ground. Well, even disinterested leftists are capable of getting caught up in the moment. As for the Senate races I think the Democratic pundits have been smoking “something”. I will be damned if I can see their numbers. 3/2 Republicans retain the Senate.
These numbers point to the underlying problem that the Democrats have faced all year. Despite a willfully ignorant President (who capacity for screwing up everything he touches, by the way, should make the Trustees of the Yale Corporation blush that they gave up a seat to a meritorious student in favor of the ‘tribe’s’ George W.), a barrelful of scandals that would make Boss Tweed blush and other assorted antics the Democrats have maintained a political position which they have carried over from the 2004 election campaign-Republican-lite. So be it. That is their problem, our problems lie elsewhere. Below are a few final observations that make this writer very glad that he stands outside the bourgeois political parties.
* Last spring Anne Coulter made a splash on the political scene by trashing widows in her latest book of political trivia. Now hot off the “de-tox” trail one Rush Limbaugh has aimed his blunted barbs at actor Michael J. Fox, a sufferer from Parkinson’s disease, who has been supporting the fight to increase stem-cell research. Apparently ever since last year’s obscene flap in the Terry Schrivo case every half-baked zany with access to a microphone is now capable of a tele-diagnosis of the ailments of the world. Seemingly this is the Republican prescription in lieu of a universal health care program.
Last spring I also mentioned that the Republicans should nominate, unopposed, Ms. Coulter as their nominee for President in 2008, as she represents the “soul” of that party. Now I have found her Vice Presidential running mate. At one time bourgeois politicians nurtured widows and orphans, the afflicted, the waifs of the world – even if they were not going to do anything about their plight. Now the “survival of the fittest” code of political warfare has rendered that point moot. In the year 2006 is it really necessary in the “interest of full and frank democratic discourse” to have these zanies running the mainstream political circus (or perhaps, asylum is a better choice of words).
* Make no mistake racism is a fact of life in American life, particularly of political life, in 2006 as always. Make all the paeans to racial integration that you want but the hard reality is down in the mud the “race card” is the coin of the realm. Cases in point. In Tennessee, black Democratic Senatorial candidate Harold Ford was the subject of a vicious television ad depicting a willowy white blonde woman coming on to him. Despite all the disclaimers his Republican opponent’s numbers jumped up after the hoopla over that ad died down. Some commentators have noted that the blatant aims of the ad- to fuel the fires over the taboo subjects of interracial sex and its adjunct the “preservation of the purity of the white race” evokes the memory of Emmett Till (see October 2006 archives for an article on Till’s case). True enough, but the really interesting thing about the ad is not so much a certain assumption about a black man’s sexuality as much as that a white woman is coming on to a black man- now that is the nut of the whole racial cultural battle which drives the ‘gentile’ whites crazy with anxiety.
In Massachusetts black Democratic candidate for Governor Deval Patrick has also been attacked with a racially charged television ad that he is “soft” on rapists. Jesus, how low can these bourgeois politicians go just to get elected to a two-bit office? Even those hardened politicians, the late Hubert Humphrey and Richard Nixon, who were capable of the most gross political shenanigans to get into office would be blushing here.
* Recently Massachusetts Congressman Barney Frank, who is slated to take over the House Finanical Services Committee chairmanship if the Democrats sweep into the majority there, gave a revealing interview that epitomizes the limits of the Democratic Party as a vehicle that working people can rely on. Now Congressman Frank is an intelligent, witting and knowledgeable politician, far from the worst of the lot- in fact probably one of the most liberal in bourgeois politics. Here is what he had to say. After paying the obligatory homage to the “free market” system Frank noted that this system contains an inherent inequality but that was essentially the overhead price one must pay for the system to function. The role of government is to regulate that inequality so that it does not become too oppressive. That, dear readers, in a nutshell is exactly what is wrong with capitalism and its defenders. The role of government should be to end government over the citizenry- to let every cook be a commissar, to end exploitation of humankind by humankind and let the devil take the hinder post. Even the best liberal politician has a tin ear on this question.
* As we wind down on this bummer of a campaign season and begin the gear up to the real action-the presidential campaign of 2008 I refer back to an article written last summer when I first started to pay attention to the national political campaign (see July 2006 archives). This was an open letter to the late Doctor Hunter J. Thompson, political writer of blessed memory, to come back and give me some goddamn help. He liked this stuff. He liked to get down in the mud with this crowd. Thompson was a pro and took this weirdness in stride. Hunter-call me, please. Enough said.
Monday, October 30, 2006
Taliban: Bitter Fruit of U.S. Imperialism’s Anti-Soviet War- A Guest Commentary
Click on title to link to an important pre-9/11 article about the Taliban in Afghanistan. My question still stands- Is any thoughtful leftist (or liberal, for that matter)ready to think through their position on the 1979 Soviet intervention on behalf of the then pro-Western, pro-Soviet secular (aspiring to, anyway) government? A Soviet victory there might have changed the course of history more in our favor.In any case, all honor to the Soviet soldiers who fell there doing their internationalist duty.
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